Shoe with extensible upper margin



July 4, 1939- F. R. MERRITT 2,64,465

SHOE WITH EXTENSIBLE UPPER MARGIN Filed Dec. 3, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l JMM W 66 64 ll, L

l July 4, 1939.

F. R, MERRrrT 2,164,465

SHOE WITH EXTENSIBLE UPPER MARGIN Filed Deo. :5, 195e 2 sheets-sheet 2 MAM Patented July 4, 1939 UNiTED STATES PATENT FFiQE SHOE WITH EXTENSIBLE UPPER MARGIN Application December 3, 1936, Serial No. 114,031

2 Claims.

rIhis invention relates to improvements in shoes, and more particularly pumps or slippers with low-cut vamps.

Many shoes having low-cut vamps fit tightly across the instep and do not yield suliiciently in that locality to accommodate the foot as it is exed in walking and consequently such shoes are uncomfortable to wear. In the manufacture of such shoes, in order to overcome this objectionable characteristic, it is proposed to form a small relief opening in the throat portion of the vamp just forwardly of and continuous with the opening that is provided for the insertion of the foot, the throat or relief opening being in the nature of a notch or a slit and being capable of expanding or opening readily to increase the girth of the vamp and thus to accommodate the fieXure of the foot and increase the Wearing comfort of the shoe as well as to facilitate the introduction of the foot into the shoe and the removal of the shoe from the foot. Moreover, in order that the throat portion and the foot opening of the vamp shall not be enlarged as a result of the enlargement of the relief opening in response to strains to which the vamp is' subjected during lasting of the shoe, the vamp lining is left intact across the relief opening until after the shoe has been lasted and the last has been withdrawn, and thereafter that portion of the lining which underlies the notched or slitted throat portion of the vamp is slit, as by cutting downwardly from its upper edge, thus rendering the notch or slit in the vamp capable of enlarging or opening to perform its intended function. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention wherein the relief opening is in the form of an open notch, an elastic gusset is inserted between the lining and the notched portion of the vamp and stitched to the vamp along the opposite edges of the notch to insure that the notch and the throat portion of the vamp will be restored to their normal unexpanded conditions when the foot reassumes an unflexed condition or when the shoe ceases to be subjected to strains tending to stretch it. Preferably, a cover piece is laid over the gusset and held in place by the stitching that secures the gusset to the vamp and this cover piece is preferably crimped or ridged heightwise of the vamp to enable it to expand and contract with the gusset. A binding strip which is stitched to the upper edge of the vamp extends across the relief opening where it is stitched to the gusset and its cover piece and, in order that the binding strip shall not interfere with the stretching of the gusset and the expanding of the relief opening, the binding strip is gathered or crimped transversely Where it overlies the gusset so as to provide a fullness or surplus of material in that locality enabling the binding strip to stretch and contract freely with the gusset.

The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings which constitute a part of the specification and in which-- Fig. 1 is a plan View of an upper assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fie. taken Fig. taken Fie.

2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view along the line II--II of Fig. 1;

3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View along the line III-III of Fig. l;

4 is a face View of a portion of the vamp lining looking from the inside of the shoe;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary portion of an upper assembly illustrating a modification of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 'l is a cross-sectional view of a completed shoe as it appears before the last has been withf.

drawn;

Fig. 8 is a sectional View taken along the line VIII- VIII of Fig. 3, showing the throat portion of an upper assembly as it appears after the portion of the lining beneath the gusset has been slit;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of a finished shoe embodying features of my invention; and

Fig. 10 is a face View of the inner side of the lining in the throat portion of the finished shoe showing the lining as it appears after it has been slit. y

In the drawings I have shown an upper assembly for a slipper or pump comprising a vamp it (having a quarter IB formed integrally therewith) a lining I8, and the usual doubler 2t which is cemented in place between the vamp and the lining. The several parts of the upper assembly are cut low in their throat portions, as is usual in the manufacture of pumps, thereby providing a low-cut foot opening 22. A V-shaped notch 24 is formed in the vamp I4 just forwardly of the foot opening 22 but there is no corresponding notch formed in the lining I 8 which consequently is left extending intact beneath the notched por* tion of the upper. Inserted between the lining I8 and the notched portion of the vamp an inner elastic gusset 26 and an outer covering member 28 of crimped leather or other suitable material, the covering member being arranged with its crimps or ridges extending lengthwise of the upper or heightwise of the notch so that both the gusset and the covering member are capable of expanding and contracting freely in unison in directions widthwise of the notch to enable the notch to open and close. The lining I8 is made of the customary material such as leather or fabric which is incapable of being extended or stretched to any substantial extent. In other words, as compared to the elastic gusset, the lining I8 is relatively inextensible. The upper edge of the integral vamp and quarter is finished by means of a strip of binding tape 3?. which is applied to its outertop edge surface by stitching and cement, the tape having been turned over the top edge of the upper and pressed against and cemented to its inner surface, the tape also extending across and being stitched or otherwise secured to the upper portion of the gusset and its covering member. In Fig. 3 the binding strip 32 is shown as being stitched at 35 to the outer side of the vamp (the stitches extending through the gusset and its cover piece where the binding extends across those parts). The binding strip is preferably cemented to the inner side of the vamp. In applying the binding tape the latter is gathered or crimped during its application to the gusset and the covering member 28 thereby imparting a certain amount of fullness to that portion of the binding tape so that the tape will not interfere with the desired expanding and contracting of the gusset 26 and its covering member but will expand and contract freely with those parts. In the drawings the binding tape 32 has been shown as being ribbed transversely and the ribs or ridges are indicated at 34 as being closer together in that portion which extends across the notch 24 thereby illustrating the fullness in the binding strip above referred to. This fullness resulting from the gathering or crimping of the binding strip is also indicated more or less conventionally in Fig. 8. The upper edge portion of the integral vamp and quarter is secured to the corresponding portion of the lining by a line of stitching 35 which extends parallel to the upper edge of the vamp and quarter and follows the contour of the notched portion of the vamp forwardly of the foot opening 20.

After the upper assembly has been prepared as described it is assembled with an insole 4I) (Fig. 7) upon a last 42, the upper materials are worked over the last so as to t smoothly thereon and their margins are secured, as by means of cement, in overlasted position upon the insole, a suitable filler 44 is applied to the forepart of the shoe bottom, and an outsole 46 is attached by cement or otherwise. During the lasting of the upper materials the relatively inextensible lining I8 which, as already set forth, extends intact across the notch 24 beneath the gusset and is firmly secured to the vamp I4 along the opposite lateral edges of the notch by the stitching St prevents the notch 24 from opening and the gusset 23 and its covering piece 28 from stretching to any appreciable extent in response to the strains incident to the lasting operation. Thus the upper of the shoe will be shaped to the contour of the last with the notch 24 practically in a normal unopened condition and with the gusset practically unstretched, so that the shoe, when taken off of the last, will retain substantially its lasted form without any substantial contraction taking place in the throat portion of the vamp.

After the shoe has been completed and the last has been Withdrawn, however, a slit 5I) (Fig. 10) is cut in that portion of the lining I8 which underlies the notch 24, the slit extending downwardly from the upper edge of the lining approximately as far as the bottom of the notch 24. The lining I8, thus slit, no longer resists any tendency of the notch 24 to open and the gusset 26 to stretch inasmuch as the slit 50 is free to open in response to any strains tending to stretch the gusset. Consequently the gusset 2G, together with its crimped covering piece 28, are now free to stretch and contract freely as required to adapt the shoe upper to conform readily and freely to the flexure of the foot so that the shoe will be more comfortable to wear. It will be appreciated that the construction herein described will also facilitate the putting on or taking off of the shoe.

Instead of forming an open notch, such as the notch 24 in the vamp I4, the vamp may merely be slit downwardly from its upper edge forwardly of the low-cut throat opening 22, as indicated at 69 in Figs. 5 and 6, and a gusset 62 of suitable stretchable material inserted between the vamp and the vamp lining and secured in place by stitching 64 which also secures the lining I8 to the vamp. As indicated in Fig. 6, the gusset may be used without any covering piece and may consist, for example, merely of a piece of leather which is capable of stretching more or less freely in directions widthwise of the vamp. The lining, in this case, will underlie the slit portion of the vamp and will be left intact until after the lasting operation and, after the last has been withdrawn, the lining will be slit in the manner hereinbefore described, the location of the slit being indicated by dotted lines at 66 in Fig. 6, so as to render the gusset 62 capable of stretching and the slit 6B in the vamp capable of opening to permit expansion of the throat portion of the vamp as required to adapt the upper to t the foot and conform to the flexure thereof. The lining I 3 before being slit will appear as indicated in Fig. 4 and after being slit it will appear as indicated in Fig. 10.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe comprising a low-cut upper having in its throat portion a relief opening communicating with the foot opening in the upper and capable of expanding to accommodate movements of the foot, a lining having a portion underlying said relief opening, said portion havl ing a slit extending downwardly from its upper edge substantially to the bottom of the relief opening, and a binding strip folded over the top edge of said upper and extending between the upper and the lining, a portion of said strip bridging said relief opening and being crimped to provide fullness permitting expansion of the latter', and the lining and the upper being secured together by a line of stitches extending parallel to the top edge of the upper and to the edge of said relief opening.

2. A shoe comprising a low-cut upper having in its throat portion a relief opening communicating with the foot opening in the upper and cap-able of expanding to accommodate movements of the foot, a lining having a portion underlying said relief opening, said portion having a slit extending downwardly from its upper edge substantially to the bottom of the relief opening, an elastic gusset bridging said relief opening and having marginal portions interposed between the lining and the edge portions of the upper Which dei-lne said relief opening, a binding strip folded over the top edge of the upper and the top edge of the gusset and extending between the up-per and the lining, the portion of said strip Which over-extends the gusset being crimped to provide fullness enabling the gusset to stretch, and the lining and the upper being secured together by a line of stitches extending parallel to the top edge of the upper and the edge of said relief opening.

FRANK R. MERRITT. 

